24 students feared drowned after being swept away by surging river in India

NEW DELHI – Police say 24 students are feared drowned after they were swept away by the surging waters of a river near a mountainous tourist resort in northern India.

Police officer Dina Nath said a sudden discharge of water into the Beas river on Sunday from a dam upstream caught the students by surprise while they were clicking pictures on its bank near Manali, 330 miles (530 kilometers) north of New Delhi.

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The 18 male and six female engineering students had come to the tourist town in Himachal Pradesh state from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

Nath said a massive rescue operation by security forces was hampered by nightfall and would be resumed on Monday morning.